The present invention relates to hand held drying devices. More particularly, the present invention is related such devices used for drying and/or styling hair, also known as hair dryers.
Hand held dryers such as hair dryers and the like are generally known in the art. Conventional hair dryers may include a generally tubular body mounted on a handle, with a fan, a heater and a motor housed in the tubular body. Air is generally drawn into the tubular body through one or more inlets proximate the rear of the tube, behind the fan. The air is urged by the fan over the heater and out a front outlet of the body. Operation of the motor and fan in driving the air results in noise that escapes the tubular body through its air inlet, air outlet, and through the body walls.
Because a hair dryer is generally proximate a user""s ears when used, the generated noise can be a nuisance. In addition to the user, the noise can be a nuisance for others nearby, including professional hair stylists using the devices to style a customer""s hair. In a professional setting such as a hair salon or the like, the noise can be particularly troublesome due to the simultaneous use of several hair dryers.
Attempts to reduce hand held dryer noise have been made. For example, commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,148,537 describes a hand held dryer having a muffler covering the back portion of the dryer and the back air inlet. The muffler provides at least one air intake passage with an opening proximate the front outlet of the tubular body. While the disclosure of the ""537 patent offers advantages over prior art dryers in reducing emitted noise, it leaves some problems unresolved.
For example, it has been found that the construction and arrangement of the muffler disclosed in the ""537 patent may cause the fan and motor to operate at less than their highest efficiency. The disclosed intake passage of the ""537 patent also has a geometry that may limit air intake and flow, and that thereby results in limited fan and motor efficiency. Further, the configuration of the handle and body of the dryer disclosed in the ""537 patent may lead to fatigue and discomfort for professional stylists and others that hold the dryer for prolonged periods.
Accordingly, there are unresolved needs in the art. For example, dryers operate with high levels of noise. Also, prior art dryers with mufflers are configured in a manner such that they may operate at less than highest efficiency. Further, handle and body configuration of some dryers may lead to fatigue for users such as professional stylists.
The present invention is directed to a hand held dryer device. One embodiment of the invention is directed to a dryer device having a body with a front air outlet and a handle attached to the body. The body contains a heater, a motor and a fan. A shroud covers at least a portion of the body, with at least one passage defined between the shroud and the body for communicating air from at least one passage inlet to the fan. The at least one passage inlet has an area that is larger than the front air outlet.
An additional invention embodiment is directed to a dryer device having a body with a front air outlet and a fan intake proximate the back end of the body. A handle is attached to the body. The body contains a heater, a motor and a fan. A shroud covers at least a portion of the body, with at least one passage defined between the shroud and the passage for communicating air to the fan intake. The shroud has an end cap that covers the back end of the body to define a chamber open to the fan intake. At least a portion of a back wall of the chamber is arcuately shaped. In addition, the dryer body is provided with ergonomic formations for reducing user fatigue while holding the dryer for extended periods.
Hand held dryer device embodiments of the invention thereby solve otherwise unresolved problems of the prior art. For example, the shroud surrounding a portion of the body significantly lowers the noise associated with operation of the drying device. Also, an inlet of a larger area than the air outlet provides for improved fan and motor efficiency. An embodiment having a chamber defined between a shroud end cap and a fan intake likewise provides for improved fan and motor efficiency as an arcuately shaped back wall of the chamber improves airflow to the fan.